This invention relates to an indication device for a laundry washing machine. The washing machine comprises a treatment chamber for laundry that is pressurized in order to treat the laundry with a cleaning agent. The chamber has an opening, which in the treatment position is covered by a door fixed to a surrounding housing and is sealed from the housing by means of a sealing arrangement.
Laundry washing machines of the type mentioned above are previously known and have been developed because of environmental reasons to replace chemical washing machines in which, for instance, trichloroethylene or perchloroethylene are used. In these alternative machines, a cleaning agent such as carbon dioxide is used in liquid state. However, there is a complication with respect to this technique since the washing chamber has to be under pressure during the treatment procedure. Machines of this type are described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,455.
The sealing of the door, in particular the sealing device that is arranged around the fill opening of the machine, is often exposed to wear. Because of the high pressure, there is a risk for gas leakage from the treatment chamber, which would not be observed by people around the machine.
The invention provides a simple and cost-effective sealing arrangement comprising an indication means intended to call upon the attention of people around a laundry washing machine that a gas leak from the treatment chamber has occurred. This is achieved by means of a device comprising a treatment chamber for laundry with an opening, which in a treatment position, is covered by a door fixed to a surrounding housing and is sealed from the housing by means of a sealing arrangement. The chamber is pressurized to treat laundry with a cleaning agent, and the sealing arrangement is provided with at least two gaskets surrounding the opening and forming an intermediate space. The space is arranged to communicate with the atmosphere via a channel such that a sound indication is achieved if there is gas leakage to the intermediate space.